


heating up

by smudgythoughts



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Femslash February 2018, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Mechanic Asami Sato, korra is a mess tm, or in which I overuse em dashes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 12:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13590159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smudgythoughts/pseuds/smudgythoughts
Summary: Asami laughs, making Korra’s heart flutter in her chest and her cheeks heat up, and yeah, Korra is definitely glad her car broke down.or, an au where asami is a mechanic, and korra's car breaks down so often it's starting to get suspicious.





	heating up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bravestofheart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bravestofheart/gifts).



> I wrote a [korrasami mechanic!au](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13533996) ficlet a few days ago, so shout out to Brenda for giving me the push I needed to write more fluffy goodness for these two.

Korra’s car starts breaking down somewhere around 5th street. There's a sound sort of like glass breaking, followed by some stuttering growls.

“That can’t be good,” she mutters to herself. Korra pulls into an uncrowded parking lot, swings her car around, and drives to the little mechanic shop a few blocks away.

The car gives another lurch. Korra is grinning from ear to ear.

//

“ _Again_?”

Korra nods.

“I’m convinced you have some sort of curse,” Asami says, eyes narrowed.

“Nah, because if I did you would have gotten rid of it already,” Korra says. “Simply by glaring at the source of my curse."

Asami laughs, making Korra’s heart flutter in her chest and her cheeks heat up, and yeah, Korra is definitely glad her car broke down.

Asami is—she’s something else. Currently she’s casually leaning back against the car she was working on, a blue Chevy Corvette with a grey roof, and her arms are folded over her chest. She's wearing ripped jeans, a brown tool belt that hangs low on her hips, and a white tan top that shows off her arms. Oh God, _her arms_. They must have been sculpted by the angels themselves, tan and gorgeous and wet with grease.

Korra only once bumped into Asami outside of work, at a craft fair of all places, and Asami was wearing a Slytherin T-Shirt at the time and looked extremely cute in it, so Korra knows that it isn't just the mechanic thing that gets her going but Asami herself. The mechanic thing helps, of course.

“But seriously, this is what, the sixth time your car's broken down?” Asami asks.

“Just about, yeah.”

“And you don’t think there’s an… issue with this? That maybe your should give up on this car that's... less than perfect—"

"A piece of crap," Korra supplies.

"Yes, that, so don't you think you should buy a new car?”

“Well the car was the last thing my mom gave me before she passed away,” Korra says. That’s a lie. Senna is alive and well in an apartment in Manhattan. A great grandfather’s of Korra's died, one she hadn’t met before, and his car somehow ended up in her hands. Sometimes, when she’s driving late and night and is a little droopy, she swears she can smell the faint hint of decaying flesh.

“Uh huh.” Asami knows her well enough to know when she’s not being entirely truthful. “Are you sure it isn’t so that you can check out Mako?”

“Huh?”

Asami points her chin behind Korra. Mako is bent over a Ford Mustang the color of piss, tinkering with something on the engine. He’s shirtless. Korra resists the urge to roll her eyes.

"I don't" Korra begins, and just stops herself from saying "swing that way." It's a lie, because Korra is bisexual, and has known since she was in high school and thought that she won't mind getting with both the prom queen and her date. But Asami is so great that everyone else pales in comparison to her. Korra hasn't even looked at anyone else since she stumbled into the mechanic's shop and she and Asami struck up a conversation. "I don't like Mako." She tries to scream at Asami _I like you_ through just her eyes, but it doesn’t seem to work.

"So I'll get started on checking the gearbox, which is usually the issue with your car. That should only take a few minutes, then I'll give you an estimate, and you should be on your merry way. You don't have someplace to be, right?"

"Nope. I was just going to head home to an empty apartment and my dog. I don't have a boyfriend. Or girlfriend. I'm not dating a nonbinary person either. And no wife, obviously. I mean—I'm single." Korra stops before she can embarrass herself further.

"Okay, great," Asami says, and Korra fantasizes that the smile playing at the corner of her lips is because of her. But that can't be true, because Asami is too amazing to not have someone to go home to at night. "You can relax in the waiting room until I'm done, I convinced dad to get some of those magazines you like—"

"Could I just wait here?" Korra asks. "I promise I won't get in your way or anything."

"I'm not supposed to let customers— well, okay," she gives in easily. "But stay a couple feet away, because the last thing I want is for you too get hurt."

"You don't want me to get hurt because of the insurance, huh? And the paperwork?" Korra jokes.

The look Asami gives her is too profound to put into words. Korra's eyes drop to the floor, unable to hold Asami's gaze.

"Yeah, sure, the insurance," Asami says.

Asami digs into her tool belt and digs out a socket wench and pair of pliers, opens up the hood of the car, and gets to work. Korra stands a few feet away, just drinking in the sight of a flushed Asami in her element, a wild look in hers eyes, dark hair spilling over her shoulder. Korra had seen Asami in her work clothes numerous times, but actually doing mechanic-y things, well, it's a whole another ballpark. 

Just as Korra's eyes are starting to get acquainted with Asami's very shapely butt, Mako calls out to her. "Korra, will you come over here for a second."

Asami looks up and gives her a shooing gesture. With a regrettable sigh Korra turns and heads over to Mako.

"Hey, what's up," Korra says, keeping her eyes trained on his eyes and not his chest, but seriously, it's freakin' February, why is the dude shirtless. "I hope it isn't a mechanical issue because if so I am not the guy for you."

"No, no, I learned that lesson from the first time." They both wince. "I'm just making sure—you're single, right?"

"Yep," Korra says. Then her eyes widen. _Oh fuck no please please don't be hitting on me I don't need this in my life now_. Her eyes dart away as if trying to find a way to escape this conversation.

Mako's shoulders sag. "Oh good. I don't think I good deal with Asami for one more second."

"Look, I'm not really into— wait, Asami?"

"Yes, ever since you came in that first day, she hadn't stopped talking you. It's starting to get irritating. I presume you feel the same way about her, with the way you were staring?"

Korra blushes, and nods vigorously.

"Then please woman-up and ask her out, for the sake of my sanity."

"Will do," Korra says, sending finger guns at him before she can stop herself.

Korra marches right over to wear Asami is bent over her car. "Are you finished? Could you give me the estimate now?" Korra sounds more confident than she really is. Her palms are soaked with sweat, and she digs her hands into the fabric of her jeans.

Asami's head shoots up, blinking in surprise at Korra. "I am now."

The minutes it takes Asami to go over to the office in the corner, plug in some numbers, and come out with a sheet of paper feels more like year.

Korra tugs the sheet of paper with enough force that Asami gives her a startled look. Korra digs in her back pocket for the fountain pen she always leaves there for emergencies—then discovers it isn't there. Right. She'd lent her pen to the sweet old lady at the grocery store and forgot to ask for it back.

"Oh _fuck_ ," Korra rambles, "I had been planning to write my number on this paper and ask you out, and it was going to be this big whole moment, but _apparently_ I don't have a pen, and this paper belongs to me anyway so I won't even be able to keep it, and I really should have thought this through—"

"Korra," Asami interrupts, an exasperated on her face. 

"Yeah?"

"Look down."

And right on the top of the paper, in neat, jet-black ink, is ten digits.

Korra gapes at Asami. "Wait, is this you asking me out?"

"It's me giving you my phone number, with the promise that we can arrange a date soon, if you want."

"Oh yes, I want," Korra says. Korra looks at the paper again, smiling, not really believing that this is her life and that a cute girl likes her back. Then she sees the price. "Umm, Asami, maybe you could take the bill for the first date? It looks like I'm fucking broke."

Asami smirks. "Maybe you shouldn't have come to get your car fixed so often."

"It's your fault," Korra bemuses. "For being so fucking cute."

Now Asami is the one blushing.

//

“Asami, there’s a little issue,” Korra says into her phone. It's kind of an awkward position, with her head thumped against her steering wheel and the phone held up against her ear, but she makes do.

Asami’s silent for a second, then quickly says, “Oh, okay that’s—that’s fine. I understand if you—”

“Oh no,” Korra cuts her off quickly. “You have the wrong idea. I really really want to be there for our date, and I’ve been excited all week, but umm… my car broke down. Like it won't move at all. Banging my head against the steering wheel didn't get it to work."

Asami lets out a long sigh. "Remind me why I want to date you again, if you're this much of a hassle?"

"Because I'm cute?" Korra says hopefully. "I might even go as far to say 'smoking hot'."

"Not untrue. Okay, text me your address, I'm coming to get you."

//

They miss their reservation at the fancy Italian place Korra spent days getting a reservation for.

Instead they get burgers at a diner a few stores down. Apparently Asami has never has a bacon cheeseburger before, but Korra quickly fixes that. By the time they leave the diner Korra is thinking it's just about the best date she's ever had, but it's made even better when Asami pushes her up against the door of her car and gives her a goodnight kiss to remember.

**Author's Note:**

> cars?? what are they? how do they work???


End file.
